Miles Dempsey Northwestern Europe, 1944-1945
What did Dempsey do in Europe?
What did Miles Dempsey do in Europe?
In North Africa, Sicily and Italy, Montgomery's faith in Dempsey had proved justified and he had also gained a reputation for his expertise in Combined Operations. This prompted Montgomery, when he left Italy at the end of 1943 to take command of the 21st Army Group for the forthcoming D-Day landings, to select Dempsey to command the British Second Army. The Second Army was the main British force (although it also included Canadian Army units) involved in the landings, making successful assaults at Gold, Juno and Sword beaches on 6 June 1944.  The successful assaults were followed by a battle of attrition during which the Anglo-Canadian forces were frustrated by determined German resistance. This fighting drew vital German units including the bulk of their armoured strength to the Caen sector, facilitating the breakout further west in July (see Operation Cobra) by Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army. The Second Army then made a rapid advance across northern France into Belgium, liberating Brussels and Antwerp in September 1944. On 15 October 1944, during a visit to the Second Army, King George VI knighted Dempsey on the battlefield. Because of the fast and successful advance over more than 200 miles in a week Dempsey received the nickname of "Two Hundred Miles" Dempsey.  Second Army's XXX Corps (now commanded by Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks) took part in Operation Market Garden, the failed attempt to secure an early crossing of the River Rhine in September 1944, which Dempsey believed could not succeed and openly questioned to Montgomery. Airborne troops secured a succession of canal and river crossings to enable XXX Corps to reach the Lower Rhine at Arnhem and wheel right into Germany. Intelligence had not detected the presence of unexpected German formations in the area and resistance proved greater than expected frustrating XXX Corps attempts to reach its final objective. During the operation, Dempsey, forward near the front with his Tac HQ, witnessed the crossing of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Parachute Regiment cross the Nijmegen bridge. Impressed, he later wrote that the 82nd was "easily the best division on the Western front". Dempsey met with the 82nd's commander, Brigadier General James M. Gavin, shook him by the hand and said "I am proud to meet the commander of the greatest division in the world today."  The Second Army, with XII and XXX Corps in the vanguard and II Canadian Corps under command and VIII Corps in reserve eventually crossed the Rhine on 23 March 1945, and Dempsey was the first British Army commander to do so. On 7 April 1945, The Illustrated London News carried a full front page of a specially commissioned portrait painting of Dempsey by artist Arthur Pan. In May, Dempsey's men captured Bremen, Hamburg and Kiel. At 11.00 am on 3 May, a delegation of senior German officers led by General Admiral von Friedeberg arrived at Dempsey's Tac HQ and after questioning it appeared that Friedeberg was a representative of Generalfeldmarschall Keitel and Grand Admiral Donitz who wished to surrender. In typical fashion Dempsey sent them on their way to report to Montgomery which led to the formal surrender the next day at Luneberg Heath. CANNOTANSWER
command the British Second Army.
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey,  (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in north west Europe. A highly professional and dedicated career soldier who made his reputation in active service, Miles Dempsey was highly thought of by both his subordinates and superiors, most notably Bernard Montgomery, although he remains less well known than Montgomery or subordinates like Brian Horrocks and Richard O'Connor.

A 1915 graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Dempsey was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Berkshire Regiment. As a junior officer, he fought on the Western Front during the First World War, where he was wounded, and was awarded the Military Cross. After the war he served in Iraq during the Iraqi revolt of 1920, in Iran during the Russian Civil War, and in India. 

During the Second World War Dempsey formed a close relationship with Montgomery. He commanded the 13th Brigade in the Battle of France in 1940, and then spent the next two years training troops in England. He commanded the Eighth Army's XIII Corps in the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943. He commanded the Second Army during the Battle of Normandy and made rapid advances in the subsequent campaign in Northern France and Belgium.

After the war he commanded the Fourteenth Army in the Far East, and the Middle East Command during the Greek Civil War and the Palestine Emergency. He retired from the Army in 1947, and was involved in horse racing. He bred and raced his own horses, and was Chairman of the Racecourse Betting Control Board from 1947 to 1951.

Early life and military career
Miles Christopher Dempsey was born in New Brighton, Wallasey, Cheshire, on 15 December 1896, the third and youngest son of Arthur Francis, a marine insurance broker, and his wife Margaret Maud  De La Fosse, the daughter of Major-General Henry De La Fosse. Dempsey was the descendant of a clan in Offaly and Laois in Ireland. His ancestor Terence O'Dempsey had been knighted on the field of battle by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex on 22 May 1599, and was created Viscount Clanmalier in 1631. Maximilian O'Dempsey, 3rd Viscount Clanmalier, was loyal to the Catholic King James II and, as a result, was attainted, and the family lost all their lands in 1691.  Dempsey's branch of the family left Ireland and by the mid-19th century had settled in Cheshire.

When Dempsey was six years old, his father killed himself, after which the family moved to Crawley in Sussex. Dempsey was educated at Shrewsbury School, entering there in 1911, where he captained the first eleven cricket team in the 1914 season when they did not lose a match. He was also a school and house monitor, and played in the second eleven football team. He also attended Officers' Training Corps (OTC) camp at Rugeley with the rank of sergeant. The Great War broke out in August, and in October he left Shrewsbury to enter the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, at the age of 17. He graduated in February 1915 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

Promoted to lieutenant in August 1915, Dempsey attended training courses until he reached the age of 19 and was eligible to serve at the front. He served on the Western Front with the 1st Battalion, Royal Berkshires, from June 1916 onwards. The battalion was a regular army unit that, as part of the 6th Brigade of the 2nd Division, had been one of the first units of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to be sent overseas. By the time of Dempsey's arrival the battalion had been transferred to the 99th Brigade of the same division.

Dempsey, serving as a platoon commander in D Company, first saw action during the Battle of Delville Wood in late July 1916, part of the larger Somme offensive. The battalion, although successful in its role, had suffered heavy casualties, including eight officers, and was relieved in the line and saw little further fighting throughout the year. Dempsey was promoted to acting captain and assumed command of D Company, and later B Company. In November the battalion took part in an assault on Munich Trench, near the River Serre. As at Delville Wood earlier in the year, the assault was successful but with heavy losses, although Dempsey again remained unscathed, and soon returned to England for home leave. On 8 February 1917 he became the adjutant of the battalion.

Following attacks near Miraumont and then Oppy, during which Lance Corporal James Welch was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the battalion, badly understrength, thereafter remained in a quiet sector of the front for most of the year, and was temporarily merged with the 23rd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. Dempsey was soon posted as a staff officer at II Corps headquarters (HQ), before returning to the 1st Royal Berkshires, this time in command of A Company. In late November the battalion attacked Bourlon Wood as part of the Battle of Cambrai.

On 12 March 1918, as the Germans prepared to launch their Spring Offensive, they laid down a heavy mustard gas barrage on Dempsey's battalion, which was now at La Vacquerie with Dempsey commanding D Company. Dempsey, along with 10 officers and 250 other ranks, was gassed and later evacuated to England, where he had a lung removed.  He returned to the battalion on 6 July, where, with the tide of the war having turned, the 1st Royal Berkshires took part in the Hundred Days Offensive until the war ended on 11 November 1918. Dempsey served as adjutant again from 5 October to 4 November. Dempsey was mentioned in despatches on 8 November 1918, and awarded the Military Cross (MC), which was gazetted in the King's Birthday Honours list on 3 June 1919.

Between the wars
After the war ended the 1st Royal Berkshires served in the Allied occupation of the Rhineland. On 16 February 1919 Dempsey returned to the UK on leave. During the summer he played two first-class cricket matches for Sussex against Oxford University and Northamptonshire. The 1st Battalion was re-formed at Chiseldon Camp in Wiltshire in June 1919. In September it was sent to Iraq, where it helped suppress the Iraqi revolt of 1920. In August 1920, the battalion moved to Iran, where it formed part of North Persia Force (Norperforce) in the Russian Civil War. While his battalion was stationed in Iran, Dempsey took up Pelmanism. In late 1921 it moved again, this time to Bareilly, India, and Dempsey took over C Company, but in 1922 he returned to England for his first leave in almost three years. He went back to India later in the year before returning to England again in 1923, this time to take up an appointment at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

While at Sandhurst Dempsey commanded No. 1 Platoon of No. 1 Company, which was commanded by Major Richard O'Connor, who was later to serve with Dempsey again, under very different circumstances. Dempsey remained in this post until 1927, when he returned to regimental duties with his regiment. This time he was posted to the 2nd Battalion, when was serving in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Dempsey took over B Company, and spent a large amount of his time travelling, mainly by bicycle, around Europe, visiting old battlefields of old wars, as well as likely scenes of battle in any future conflicts. Between 1926 and 1932, he played Minor Counties Championship cricket for Berkshire. He also played football and hockey.

In January 1930 Dempsey was admitted to the Staff College, Camberley, graduating in December 1931. His fellow students in the Junior Division included numerous future general officers, including William Gott, George Hopkinson, George Symes, Maurice Chilton, Walter Mallaby, Arthur Snelling, Stuart Rawlins, John Nichols, along with John Chapman of the Australian Army, while Manley James and  G. F. Maclean would become brigadiers. The Senior Division attending from 1929 to 1930 included Neil Ritchie, Herbert Lumsden, George Erskine, Ivor Hughes, Reginald Denning, Harold Redman and Ian Playfair, while in Dempsey's second year, the Junior Division, attending from 1931 to 1932, included Brian Horrocks, Sidney Kirkman, Frank Simpson, Joseph Baillon, Arthur Dowler, Thomas Rees, Keith Arbuthnott and Cameron Nicholson. The instructors in Dempsey's first year included Henry Maitland Wilson, George Giffard, John Clark, James Gammell and Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Boy Browning was the college adjutant. Nearly all of these men were to achieve high rank in the upcoming war.

Enjoying his time at the Staff College, Dempsey captained the college cricket team. He also excelled at equitation, beating Gott in the point-to-point competition. Students worked in syndicates; Dempsey's chose to study the August 1914 Battle of Gumbinnen. They toured the battlefield with Hauptmann Anton Reichard von Mauchenheim genannt Bechtolsheim, a German Army officer who had been on two months' secondment to the British Army in 1930. The syndicate noted the influence that poor communications had on the outcome of the battle, and speculated as to how armoured fighting vehicles might have been employed had they existed at the time.

Completion of the course at Camberley was normally followed by a staff posting to allow the graduate to practise his skills, and Dempsey's first posting after Camberley was as a General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO3) to the Military Secretary, where he became responsible for the careers of all officers below the rank of colonel, having access to their annual confidential reports. Dempsey, who was promoted to major on 22 September 1932, held this post until late January 1934, when he handed over to Brian Horrocks upon receiving an appointment as brigade major of the 5th Infantry Brigade.

The brigade, commanded by Brigadier Victor Fortune (Francis Nosworthy from 1935), formed part of the 2nd Division, then commanded by Major-General Archibald Wavell. It was serving in Aldershot Command and took part in numerous large-scale military manoeuvres throughout Dempsey's time as brigade major. After handing over again to Brian Horrocks in February 1936, Dempsey returned to the 1st Battalion of his regiment, taking command of HQ Company. The 1st Battalion was now stationed in Shorncliffe, Kent, as part of the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division. Shortly after Dempsey's return, Lieutenant Colonel Eric Miles assumed command.

The following year Dempsey attended a brief course at the Senior Officers' School at Sheerness, before being posted to South Africa, where he served as a General Staff Officer Grade 2 (GSO2) with the Defence Forces of the Union of South Africa at the South African Army College at Roberts Heights near Pretoria, a posting which he enjoyed. Relinquishing that post in late January 1938, he returned to England soon after to succeed Miles as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Berkshires, and received a promotion to lieutenant colonel on 11 February 1938. The battalion, still with the 10th Brigade, was both lacking in modern equipment and severely understrength, although, with the possibility of another war in Europe, the situation slowly changed and new equipment and reservists began arriving.

Second World War

Belgium and France
In October 1938 Dempsey's battalion moved to Blackdown Army Camp, transferring from Brigadier Evelyn Barker's 10th Brigade to Brigadier Noel Irwin's 6th Brigade, and becoming part of the 2nd Division once more. Soon after the start of the Second World War in September 1939, Dempsey, with his battalion, was sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).

In November Dempsey was promoted to the acting rank of brigadier, and assumed command of the 13th Infantry Brigade in place of Brigadier Henry Willcox, who had been one of Dempsey's instructors at the Staff College in the 1930s. Aged just 42, he was one of the youngest brigadiers in the British Army. The brigade formed part of Major-General Harold Franklyn's 5th Division, although the division was still not fully formed and so the brigade was sent to France as an independent formation two months before, and had spent most of its time on guard duties in the BEF's rear areas. The brigade, together with the 15th Infantry Brigade, under Brigadier Horatio Berney-Ficklin, and the 17th Infantry Brigade, under Brigadier Montagu Stopford, re-joined the 5th Division when the division HQ arrived in late December. The 5th Division then became part of Lieutenant-General Alan Brooke's II Corps.

The brigade saw action in May 1940 in the retreat from the River Dyle and fought in the major defensive battle on the River Scarpe. When the Belgian Army surrendered in late May the brigade took part in the holding battle of the Ypres–Comines Canal allowing Major-General Bernard Montgomery's 3rd Infantry Division to cross their rear and secure the gap created by the Belgian collapse. In the subsequent retreat to Dunkirk the brigade provided part of the rear-guard for the BEF during the Dunkirk evacuation. By the time the 13th Brigade returned to England it was reduced to a strength of less than 500 men, out of an original strength of nearly 3,000. For his services in France, Dempsey was mentioned in despatches and made a companion of the Distinguished Service Order in July 1940, which was presented to him by Franklyn. Soon after, Franklyn was replaced by Berney-Ficklin.

In July 1940 Dempsey took up the appointment of Brigadier General Staff (BGS) to the Canadian Corps, a post he held until 15 June 1941, when he was promoted to the acting rank of major-general, and given command of the 46th Division. Four months later he assumed command of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, which was in the process of converting to an armoured division. This required him to implement a huge training programme. The 125th and 126th Infantry Brigades were converted into the 10th and 11th Armoured Brigades respectively, and their infantry battalions re-roled as regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps. Further challenges were presented in May 1942 when the establishment of British armoured divisions was altered to team an armoured brigade with an infantry brigade instead of having two armoured brigades. The 10th and 11th Armoured Brigades were withdrawn from the division and replaced by 30th Armoured Brigade and 71st Infantry Brigade. By the end of the year Dempsey had become well-versed in the direction of combined armoured and infantry formations as well as an experienced trainer of troops.

Sicily and Italy
On 12 December 1942 Dempsey was promoted to lieutenant-general, and assumed command of the XIII Corps of the British Eighth Army in North Africa vice Horrocks, who took over the X Corps, at the request of Montgomery, the Eighth Army commander. In his memoirs, Montgomery wrote that Dempsey had been a student of his when he was an instructor at the Staff College, but his memory was faulty; Montgomery left the Staff College in 1929, and Dempsey did not arrive until 1930.

On arrival in Cairo, Dempsey found his corps HQ in reserve because the long lines of communication to Eighth Army's spearhead could only sustain two corps (Horrocks's X Corps and Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese's XXX Corps). He was therefore employed in the planning of the Allied invasion of Sicily. The overall plan was developed by a staff in Algiers known as Force 141, under Major-General Charles Gairdner. Dempsey temporarily assumed the role of chief of staff of Force 545, the staff responsible for planning the British Eighth Army's part in the operation, until Major-General Francis de Guingand, the Eighth Army chief of staff, could be spared to take over. Dempsey did not like the plan, which involved separate, dispersed landings. He took his objections to Montgomery on 13 March 1943, and then to Gairdner five days later. De Guingand took over on 17 April, enabling Dempsey to return to command of XIII Corps. He discussed the plan with Dempsey, and prepared an appreciation for Montgomery. Montgomery cabled his objections to General Harold Alexander, the 15th Army Group commander, on 24 April. After some debate, the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower accepted Montgomery's revised plan on 3 May.

For the invasion of Sicily, Dempsey's XIII Corps had two infantry divisions, the 5th Division under Berney-Ficklin and the 50th Division under Major-General Sidney Kirkman, and Brigadier John Cecil Currie's 4th Armoured Brigade, which had only two armoured regiments, the 44th Royal Tank Regiment and the 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters). He was also responsible for the 1st Airborne Division, under Major-General George Hopkinson, which would be dropped by parachute and glider just prior to the amphibious landings. The landings on Sicily on 10 July 1943 initially went well, with XIII Corps achieving all its first day objectives, but by 12 July progress slowed after the 5th Division encountered elements of the German Hermann Göring Division. Montgomery and Dempsey attempted to capture Catania using paratroops and commandos. This was only partially successful, and Catania was not taken. Dempsey suggested an amphibious operation, but this was rejected by Montgomery in favour of switching the main axis of the Eighth Army's advance inland to XXX Corps to the west of Mount Etna. On 3 August Dempsey relieved Berney-Ficklin of his command. His performance had impressed neither Dempsey nor Montgomery, and the latter was happy to replace him with another protégé, Gerard Bucknall.

Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst recalled an incident from the campaign: 

On 13 August, towards the end of the campaign, Dempsey's XIII Corps HQ was withdrawn to reserve to plan Operation Baytown, Eighth Army's part in the Allied invasion of Italy across the Strait of Messina. The 50th Division was earmarked to return to the UK, and was replaced by the 1st Canadian Division, under the command of Major-General Guy Simonds, whom Dempsey considered a friend. Although surrender negotiations with the Italians were in progress, intelligence on German and Italian dispositions was sketchy, and Dempsey insisted on an adequate number of landing craft being provided, which delayed the operation until 3 September. Although his Corps' landing was unopposed, and subsequent opposition was light, the Germans ensured his progress was slow by destroying bridges and culverts on the only routes through the harsh terrain. It took nearly two weeks to advance more than  to the north to link up with the U.S. Fifth Army landing at Salerno as part of Operation Avalanche. Allied forces then commenced to fight their way northward with Fifth Army to the west and Eighth Army to the east of Italy's Apennine Mountain spine. The corps later took part in the Moro River Campaign but the severe winter weather precluded any further progress.

North Western Europe

In Sicily and Italy, Montgomery's faith in Dempsey had proved justified and he had also gained a reputation for his expertise in Combined Operations. This prompted Montgomery, when he left Italy at the end of 1943 to take command of the 21st Army Group for the forthcoming D-Day landings, to select Dempsey to command the Second Army, the main British force involved (although it also included Canadian Army units). Dempsey was not Montgomery's first choice for the assignment; he had recommended that Leese take over the Second Army and Dempsey be given the First Canadian Army. There was no chance that the Canadian government would accept a British officer, and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, would not countenance it. Command of the First Canadian Army was given to Canadian Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar. Leese replaced Montgomery in command of the Eighth Army on Alexander's recommendation, and Dempsey was given the Second Army.

The Second Army made successful assaults at Gold, Juno and Sword beaches on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Dempsey came ashore that evening and established his tactical headquarters (Tac HQ) at Banville. Like Montgomery, he lived at his Tac HQ, where he maintained a small staff with some aides and liaison officers. It had caravans, radios and some vehicles, and could move at short notice. He had a staff car and an Auster light aircraft, which he called his "whizzer", and used them to move about the battlefield. Main HQ moved to Normandy on 12 June, and opened at Creully, where Montgomery had his 21st Army Group HQ. Although usually located further back than Tac HQ, it was still a field headquarters and did not require accommodation in buildings or fixed signal connections. It contained the operations, intelligence and air support branches.

Where possible, Main HQ was co-located with Broadhurst's No. 83 (Composite) Group RAF and A Squadron of the GHQ Liaison Regiment (known as Phantom). Broadhurst was apprehensive when he found out that he would be Dempsey's opposite number, as their relationship in Italy had been strained, something Broadhurst attributed to Dempsey's inexperience as a corps commander. Broadhurst found that Dempsey had accepted that he had been wrong, and worked on forging the Army and RAF into a successful team. Dempsey seldom made a move without talking to Broadhurst, and the two gradually became friends. Main HQ was presided over by Dempsey's chief of staff, Brigadier Maurice Chilton, who had been part of his syndicate at Camberley. Chilton and Dempsey would meet every day, usually at Tac HQ. Chilton later became Deputy Adjutant General at 21st Army Group HQ, and he was replaced as chief of staff by Brigadier Harold "Pete" Pyman on 23 January 1945. Rear HQ was normally situated  or so further back and contained the rest of Second Army HQ. It was presided over by the Quartermaster General, Brigadier Geoffrey Hardy-Roberts. In all, Second Army HQ had a strength of 189 officers and 970 other ranks.

The Battle for Caen degenerated into a battle of attrition during which the Anglo-Canadian forces were frustrated by determined German resistance. This fighting drew vital German units including the bulk of their armoured strength to the Caen sector, which facilitated Operation Cobra, the breakout further west by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's U.S. First Army. Dempsey convinced Montgomery to allow him to make an attempt at a breakthrough using three armoured divisions, assisted by heavy bombers dropping  of bombs. The result was Operation Goodwood. The result was a costly  advance. Goodwood did succeed in its subsidiary aim of drawing away German reserves from Bradley's front: by 25 July, the Germans had 600 panzers, including all the heavy battalions with Tiger I and Tiger II tanks, opposite the Second Army and just 100 facing the U.S. First Army. But there was no denying that Goodwood had been oversold. There were calls for Montgomery to be sacked, although this was never likely, but little criticism of Dempsey despite him being the architect and directly responsible for some of its tactical flaws. Montgomery took all the heat upon himself, and never tried to shift the blame onto Dempsey.

On 2 August, Dempsey told Montgomery that he was fed up with Bucknall, the XXX Corps commander, and Major-General George Erskine, the commander of the 7th Armoured Division, and wanted to relieve them both. Relief of a corps commander is always a sensitive matter, and Bucknall had been appointed at Montgomery's request despite Brooke's reservations. Montgomery now had to admit to Brooke that he had made a mistake, and that Bucknall was not fit to command a corps in mobile operations after all. Bucknall was replaced by Horrocks. Erskine was also replaced, in his case by Major-General Gerald Lloyd-Verney. This meant that all four British corps commanders in the 21st Army Group had commanded a corps before Dempsey had, but Horrocks (XXX Corps) and John Crocker (I Corps) had been wounded, Richard O'Connor (VIII Corps) had been a prisoner of war, and Neil Ritchie had been sacked as Eighth Army commander after losing the Battle of Gazala in June 1942.

Horrocks wrote of Dempsey:

The Second Army then made a rapid advance across northern France into Belgium, liberating Brussels and Antwerp in September 1944, Dempsey's Tac HQ moved five times, covering  in eleven days. Second Army took part in Operation Market Garden, the failed attempt to secure an early crossing of the River Rhine in September 1944, which Dempsey believed could not succeed and openly questioned to Montgomery. Dempsey suggested an alternative plan of crossing the Maas near Venlo and the Rhine at Wesel,  closer to Bradley's American armies. According to Dempsey, Montgomery's mind was made up by a signal from London concerning the launching of German V-2 rockets from sites in the Netherlands. Montgomery's arguments were rooted in military strategy, which was Montgomery's responsibility,  whereas Dempsey's were based in the Operational level of war, which was his. And too, Montgomery was difficult to argue with because he always employed well-reasoned military logic, and would not be moved by anything but the same. Dempsey did convince Montgomery to enlarge the operation so that while Horrocks's XXX Corps would be the spearhead, it would be accompanied by Ritchie's XII Corps on the left and O'Connor's VIII Corps on the right, and to employ three airborne divisions instead of just one.

Airborne troops secured a succession of canal and river crossings to enable XXX Corps to reach the Nederrijn at Arnhem and wheel right into Germany. Intelligence had not detected the presence of unexpected German formations in the area and resistance proved greater than expected, frustrating XXX Corps' attempts to reach its final objective. During the operation, Dempsey, forward near the front with his Tac HQ, witnessed the assault crossing of the Waal by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Parachute Regiment. Impressed, he later wrote that the 82nd was "easily the best division on the Western front". Dempsey met with the 82nd's commander, Brigadier General James M. Gavin, shook him by the hand and said "I am proud to meet the commander of the greatest division in the world today." Dempsey also impressed the American paratroopers with his demeanour. When a paratrooper told him that all the leaders of his squad were dead, Dempsey replied: "You're in charge." Dempsey and Horrocks agreed to terminate the operation and withdraw the 1st Airborne Division from the north bank of the Nederrijn when they judged the operation no longer had any chance of success. On 15 October 1944, during a visit to the Second Army, King George VI invested Dempsey in the field with his award of the Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, which had been gazetted on 27 June.

The Second Army, with XII and XXX Corps in the vanguard and Guy Simonds's II Canadian Corps under command, and VIII Corps in reserve, eventually crossed the Rhine on 23 March 1945. Dempsey was the first British Army commander to do so. On 7 April 1945, The Illustrated London News carried a full front page of a specially commissioned portrait painting of Dempsey by artist Arthur Pan. In May, Dempsey's men captured Bremen and Kiel. On 3 May, a delegation of senior German officers led by Generaladmiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg arrived at Dempsey's Tac HQ and after questioning it appeared that Friedeburg was a representative of Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, who wished to surrender to Montgomery. Dempsey sent them to Montgomery, which led to the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath the next day. In the meantime, Dempsey negotiated the surrender of the Hamburg garrison with Generalmajor Alwin Wolz.

For his services in north west Europe, Dempsey was mentioned in despatches twice more, and he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in July 1945. The United States awarded him its Army Distinguished Service Medal, and made him a Commander of the Legion of Merit. The Belgian government awarded him its Croix de guerre with Palm and made him a Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold with Palm, and the Netherlands government made him a Knight Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords.

Far East
After the end of World War II in Europe, Dempsey had been nominated to become the commander in chief of British Troops in Austria, but this was abruptly cancelled. On 4 July 1945, Dempsey was summoned to a meeting with Brooke, who informed Dempsey that he was appointed to the command of the British Fourteenth Army in the Far East. Brooke was disappointed with Dempsey's attitude. The appointment had come about because Leese, as Commander-in-Chief, Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALSEA), had unwisely attempted to sideline Lieutenant-General Sir William Slim, the Fourteenth Army commander, resulting in Leese's removal and replacement by Slim. Dempsey assumed command of the Fourteenth Army on 10 August. The war ended soon after, and the Fourteenth Army re-occupied British Malaya. Operation Zipper, the planned amphibious landing, was carried out anyway. Dempsey was extremely critical of its poor planning, which would have led to disaster under wartime conditions. Within South East Asia Command there were 122,700 British Commonwealth and Dutch prisoners of war that had to be repatriated, and 733,000 Japanese soldiers. The Fourteenth Army ceased to exist on 1 November, and part of its headquarters was used to form that of Malaya Command, with Dempsey in command and his headquarters at Kuala Lumpur. On 8 November he handed over to Lieutenant-General Sir Frank Messervy, and replaced Slim, who returned to the UK, as Commander-in-Chief of ALSEA.

Post-war career
On 19 April 1946, Dempsey was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Middle East Command. Initially, his main concern was the Greek Civil War. This abated after the end of 1946, allowing British troops to be withdrawn and the commitment handed over to the Americans. The other major concern was the Palestine Emergency. The British Army became involved in a full-scale counterinsurgency. Dempsey advised Montgomery, who was now the CIGS, that if the government was not willing to commit the resources required, then it should contemplate withdrawal from Mandatory Palestine. The experience left Dempsey with a distaste for the role of senior officer in peacetime. He was made acting general in June 1946, which was made permanent in October 1946, and was appointed to the ceremonial post of aide-de-camp general to the King on 14 October. Nonetheless, he told Lord Mountbatten that he regarded command of the Second Army as being the pinnacle of his career. Although Montgomery wanted Dempsey to succeed him as CIGS, Dempsey elected to retire instead.

Dempsey retired from the Army in August 1947. In 1950, he was given a "shadow" appointment as Commander in Chief, British Home forces which he relinquished in 1956. He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in the 1956 New Year Honours. He was Colonel of the Regiment of the Princess Charlotte of Wales Royal Berkshire Regiment from 1946 to 1956, and held the ceremonial posts of Colonel Commandant of the Royal Military Police, from 1947 to 1957, and the Special Air Service (SAS) from 1951 to 1960. He was also Honorary Colonel of the Territorial army's 21st SAS Regiment (Artists Rifles) from 1948 to 1951. There were proposals to disband the SAS, and to absorb it into other organisations like the Parachute Regiment or the Army Air Corps. Montgomery managed to have the Parachute Regiment made a permanent part of the Army, but it was Dempsey's lobbying that achieved the same status for the SAS in May 1950.

In 1948, Dempsey married Viola O'Reilly, the youngest daughter of Captain Percy O'Reilly of Colamber County Westmeath in Ireland, whom he called "Tuppeny". The two met when Dempsey paid a visit to stables of the King's racehorse trainer, Cecil Boyd-Rochfort, where she was working. They shared a mutual love of horses. His marriage surprised many of his friends and relatives, as he had been a long-time bachelor, and the bride was Catholic. He would sometimes join her for religious services in her own church. They decided to settle in Berkshire, the home of his old regiment, and conveniently close to horse racing venues. They moved to the Old Vicarage at Greenham, and then to Coombe House in Yattendon. He was commissioned as a Deputy Lord Lieutenant in the county of Berkshire in 1950.

Dempsey was Chairman of the Racecourse Betting Control Board from 1947 to 1951, and he bred and raced his own horses. He was chairman of H&G Simonds from 1953 to 1963, and of Greene King and Sons from 1955 to 1967, and the first non-family chairman and Deputy Chairman of Courage, Barclay, Simonds & Co from 1961 to 1966. But he declined to write any memoirs about his military experiences, and ordered that his diaries be burned. However, some of his diaries and letters have survived, and are in the National Archives and the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. His engagement diary for the first half of 1944 sold at auction in 2014 for  £1,125. He oversaw the July 1947 publication of An Account of the Operations of Second Army in Europe 1944–1945, for which he wrote the foreword and Pyman edited, but only 48 copies were printed; one sold at auction for £8,750 in 2012.

Death
During a visit to his nephew Michael in Kenya, Dempsey felt a pain in his back. When he returned to England it was diagnosed as cancer. He died at his home in Yattendon soon afterwards, on 5 June 1969. "Bimbo died", Peter Caddick-Adams wrote, "the way he had lived his life, in relative obscurity." He was buried in the churchyard at Yattendon. A memorial service was held at the Farm Street Church, which was attended by Montgomery and Mountbatten.

Reputation
Although modest and unassuming, Dempsey was considered to be a highly competent officer. He asserted effective control over the Second Army without taking the limelight. He was described thus by military historian Carlo D'Este:

Horrocks wrote that

Footnotes

Notes

References

External links
British Army Officers 1939–1945
Generals of World War II

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1896 births
1969 deaths
English people of Irish descent
Berkshire cricketers
British Army generals of World War II
British Army personnel of World War I
British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency
Commanders of the Legion of Merit
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Deaths from cancer in England
Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire
English cricketers
Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Operation Overlord people
People educated at Shrewsbury School
People from Cheshire
People from Wallasey
People from West Berkshire District
People from Yattendon
Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)
Recipients of the Military Cross
Royal Berkshire Regiment officers
Sussex cricketers
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
British Army generals
British Army personnel of the Russian Civil War
Military personnel from Cheshire
Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and race car driver, best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in Grey's Anatomy. He had early success as an actor, starring in a number of films in the 1980s, including Can't Buy Me Love (1987) and Loverboy (1989). In the 1990s, he mostly appeared in smaller roles in film, such as Outbreak (1995) and television. Dempsey was also in Scream 3 (2000) where he played the role of Detective Mark Kincaid. He was successful in landing a lead role in Sweet Home Alabama (2002), a surprise box office hit. He has since starred in other films, including Brother Bear 2 (2006), Enchanted (2007), Made of Honor (2008), Valentine's Day (2010), Flypaper (2011), Freedom Writers (2007), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016).

Dempsey, who maintains a sports car and vintage car collection, also enjoys auto racing in his spare time. He has competed in pro-am events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race, and Ensenada SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race. Prior to the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, Dempsey declared that he would "walk away" from acting if he could and dedicate himself full-time to motorsports.

Early life
Dempsey was born in Lewiston, Maine, and grew up in the nearby towns of Turner and Buckfield. He has two older sisters and a half-brother, Shane Wray. His mother, Amanda (née Casson), was a school secretary, and his father, William, was an insurance salesman.

He attended Buckfield High School and St. Dominic Regional High School, and after moving to Houston attended Willowridge High School.

In his youth, Dempsey participated in juggling competitions. In 1981, he achieved second place at the International Jugglers' Association Championship in the Juniors category, just behind Anthony Gatto, who is considered to be the best technical juggler of all time.

Dempsey was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 12. He told Barbara Walters on her 2008 Oscar special that he thinks dyslexia made him what he is today. "It's given me a perspective of — you have to keep working," Dempsey told Walters. "I have never given up."

Acting career

Early career
An invitation to audition for a role in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy led to Patrick Dempsey's discovery as an actor. His audition was successful and he spent the following four months touring with the company in Philadelphia. He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey has also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and as Timmy (the Martin Sheen role) in a 1990 off-Broadway revival of The Subject Was Roses co-starring with John Mahoney and Dana Ivey at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 with Beverly D'Angelo in the film In The Mood, the actual World War II story about Ellsworth Wisecarver whose relationships with older married women created a national uproar. He then co-starred in the third installment of the comedy classic Meatballs III: Summer Job, alongside Sally Kellerman in 1987. This was followed by the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson and Some Girls with Jennifer Connelly in 1988. In 1989, Dempsey had the lead role in the films Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater.

1990s and 2000s
Dempsey made several featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy. He received good reviews, however, as he portrayed real-life Mob boss, Meyer Lansky in 1991 when Mobsters was put on the screen. His first major television role was a three-episode stint as Will Truman's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He appeared in four episodes of Once & Again as Aaron Brooks, the schizophrenic brother of Lily (Sela Ward). Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 1993, he played a young John F. Kennedy in the two-part TV mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth. In 2000, he played Detective Kincaid in Scream 3.

Dempsey had a high-profile role as the fiancé of Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama (2002). In 2004, he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston. He also appeared as special guest star in The Practice for its three-episode finale season (8x13-8x15).

In 2007, Dempsey starred in the Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers, where he reunited with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank. He also voiced the character Kenai in Brother Bear sequel Brother Bear 2, replacing Joaquin Phoenix. Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2008 film Made of Honor as Tom, and the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine's Day; the latter film follows five interconnecting stories about Los Angelinos anticipating (or in some cases dreading) the holiday of love.

Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the prize-winning novel The Art of Racing in the Rain in July 2009, for Dempsey to star in. The film instead starred Milo Ventimiglia. He starred as Dylan Gould in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).

Grey's Anatomy

Dempsey has received significant public attention for his role as Dr. Derek Christopher Shepherd (McDreamy) in the drama Grey's Anatomy next to Ellen Pompeo. Before landing the role, Dempsey auditioned for the role of Dr. Chase on another medical show, House. He also appeared in two episodes of the later Grey's spinoff Private Practice, playing the same character of Dr. Shepherd. The relationship his character had with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) on screen has received a lot of praise and positive reactions.

In January 2014, he signed a two-year contract to remain on Grey's Anatomy, then in its tenth season, that would ensure his participation for potential 11th and 12th seasons.

Dempsey was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series–Drama at the 2006 Golden Globes for the role. His success on the show has led to his becoming a spokesman for Mazda and State Farm Insurance. BuddyTV ranked him #1 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011."

In November 2020, Dempsey appeared as Derek Shepherd at the start of the series' 17th season for the first time since the character had died in April 2015.

Further work
Following his departure from Grey's Anatomy, Dempsey was working on two small-screen projects: a drama The Limit for SundanceTV and a travelogue spy thriller called Fodors. He said: 

In 2016, Dempsey starred in the Universal Pictures film Bridget Jones's Baby with Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth, and in 2018 he appeared on Epix television miniseries The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.

On February 4, 2020, Dempsey signed on to star as the lead of a CBS political drama pilot Ways & Means, where he would portray a Congressional leader. Initially planned to be considered for the 2020-21 televisions season, the pilot was rolled into consideration for the following season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CBS ultimately passed on the finished pilot in May 2021.  In January 2021, it was announced that Dempsey would reprise his role in the Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted, slated to begin production in spring of that year. The film is scheduled to be released on Disney+ late 2022.

Auto racing

In 2014, Dempsey told Reuters in the Hockenheimring support paddock at the German Grand Prix that motor racing was not just a hobby, and had become as much a part of who he is as acting. He said, "It's all-consuming in many ways. I couldn't imagine not racing right now. It really keeps me motivated. It's all I think about on a daily basis."

Dempsey, who maintains an extensive sports and vintage car collection, has enjoyed auto racing in his spare time for several years. Before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013, he said that he would like to compete full-time, telling Eurosport:
I would like to make that [motorsports] a complete priority and just focus on this full-time. If I could just walk away from acting, I think I could do that very easily, and just focus on the driving, I would love that more than anything else.

He has competed in prestigious pro-am events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race, and Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race. He was a co-owner of the Vision Racing IndyCar Series team and current owner of Dempsey Racing, which is presently racing two Porsche 911 GT America's in the Tudor United Sports Car Series. He participated in this series as often as his schedule allowed, although insurance restrictions kept him from driving competitively while also filming a motion picture. In 2009, he raced a Team Seattle Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans's GT2 class and finished ninth in class.

Dempsey announced he would race the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona along with other races throughout the season in a Mazda RX-8.

Dempsey finished in third place in the GT Class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. In 2012, Dempsey competed in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Racing-Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, which, after five successful racing seasons in Europe, was to make its debut on American tracks. He formed the Dempsey Racing team to compete in the American Le Mans Series. The team fielded a full-time Oreca FLM09 in the Prototype Challenge class as well as a Lola B12/80 coupe in the Prototype 2 class from Laguna Seca onward. 

After debuting at the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, Dempsey returned to France four years later and competed in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Dempsey and his co-drivers finished 29th overall and fourth in-class. 

Telling Porsche Newsroom: "Not much changes in my TV work, but everything changes constantly in motor racing – every lap, every bend and every moment."

In 2015, Dempsey focused on participating in the FIA World Endurance Championship with his own Dempsey Racing-Proton team in the GTE-Am class in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, teamed with Patrick Long and Marco Seefried.

Racing records

Career summary

 Not eligible for points.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Rolex Sports Car Series results
(key) (Results are overall/class)

 Did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.

Complete Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge results
(key) (Results are overall/class)

‡ As Dempsey was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Maserati Trofeo World Series results
(key)

‡ As Dempsey was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete American Le Mans Series results
(key) (Results are overall/class)

 Did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.

Complete United SportsCar Championship results
(key) (Results are overall/class)

 Did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Porsche Supercup results
(key)

‡ As Dempsey was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Other ventures

Promotional work
He has been the face of L'Oreal and Versace and was featured in ads for Serengeti sunglasses. In November 2008, he launched an Avon fragrance named Unscripted. In June 2009, Women's Wear Daily reported the launch of a second Avon fragrance named Patrick Dempsey 2. The fragrance was recognized as the "Men's Private Label/Direct Sell" for the 2010 FiFi Awards. On September 29, 2012, Mexican cable company Cablemás, Megacable and Mexico city's Cablevisión launched an advertising campaign featuring Dempsey as the love interest of a domestic worker who comes across his profile on an online dating site.

Starting in 2013, Patrick Dempsey became the face of Silhouette, promoting eyewear fashion from Austria. From January 2017 Dempsey appears for Vodafone Italy and he appears in some Italian spots about it. In 2018, Bleusalt, a Malibu-based fashion brand launched a clothing line designed by the actor.

Business interests

In January 2013, Dempsey announced that his company (Global Baristas) had secured the winning bid to purchase Seattle-based Tully's Coffee, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October. Dempsey's bid of $9.15M was enough to secure Tully's over the bids of six others including Starbucks. Dempsey's company will control 47 Tully's locations in the Seattle area, but not the online business which had been purchased by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 2009.

Following a legal dispute with investor group Global Baristas, Dempsey left the group, in effect officially leaving his managerial positions with Tully's. Dempsey filed a lawsuit on behalf of Global Baristas, claiming Michael Avenatti borrowed $2 million against Tully's assets without informing Dempsey, rather than fully financing the coffee chain as was promised, calling the 15 percent interest rate on the loan "exorbitant" and sued for Avenatti to fund Tully's operations and meet its working capital needs, as well as for any damages owed the company. Soon after, Dempsey's lawyer's office issued a statement saying the partnership was dissolved and that Dempsey wished the lawyer and the company "all the best". Avenatti has stated the dispute was a "misunderstanding" and will continue operating with other investors and new management.

Philanthropy
In 1997, Dempsey's mother, Amanda, was diagnosed with cancer which subsequently relapsed five times. On March 24, 2014, she died in Lewiston, Maine, aged 79. In response to his mother's bouts with cancer, Dempsey helped start the Patrick Dempsey Center at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. In October 2009, when Dempsey introduced the first Dempsey Challenge, registration was closed after reaching the goal of 3,500 cyclists, runners and walkers. The event raised more than $1 million for the cancer center. His mother was in the crowd as Dempsey finished his 50-mile ride. The Challenge has since become an annual October event presented by Amgen in the Lewiston–Auburn area. On May 28, 2017, Dempsey received an honorary doctorate from Bates College in his hometown, Lewiston, Maine for his philanthropy in the town and funding of "the Dempsey Center — just blocks from the Bates campus."

Dempsey was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bowdoin College in 2013 for his philanthropic work. His Grey's Anatomy character Derek Shepherd had been written as a Bowdoin graduate after an alumnus led a petition signed by over 450 students to "adopt" the character as an alumnus.

Personal life
Dempsey was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 12. As a result, it is necessary for him to memorize all his lines to perform, even for auditions where he is unlikely to get the part.

Entertainment Weekly put Dempsey's hair on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "What made Grey's Anatomy a mega-medi-hit? It could have something to do with creator Shonda Rhimes' scalpel-sharp writing… or McDreamy's impossibly luxurious man hair. Just saying." In 2005, People magazine ranked him second in its annual list of "Sexiest Men Alive" and again in 2006.

Dempsey has been married twice. On August 24, 1987, he married his manager, actress and acting coach, Rochelle "Rocky" Parker, when he was 21 and she 48. She appeared with Dempsey in the film In the Mood. While it has been reported that Dempsey married his best friend's mother, he has said that he became best friends with Parker's son only after he became romantically involved with Parker. The couple divorced on April 26, 1994. She died in 2014.

On July 31, 1999, Dempsey married Jillian Fink. The couple have three children. In January 2015, Fink filed for divorce, but the couple reconciled later in the year. They called off their divorce on November 12, 2016.

Dempsey is a supporter of Scottish football club Rangers F.C. because of his Scottish ancestry through his step-grandfather.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

 
 
 Patrick Dempsey at Internet Off-Broadway Database
 Patrick Dempsey at Emmys.com
 Patrick Dempsey at Le Mans
 

1966 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Lewiston, Maine
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Male actors from Maine
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American car collectors
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
IndyCar Series team owners
Jugglers
Racing drivers from Maine
American Le Mans Series drivers
American film producers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Porsche Supercup drivers
People with dyslexia
People from Turner, Maine
People from Buckfield, Maine
Film directors from Maine Kevin Dempsey is a British, Coventry-born guitarist, songwriter, producer and arranger, whose playing has been described as "innovative".

Career
Dempsey started off playing drums before moving quickly to guitar.

A co-founder of progressive folk act Dando Shaft, when the band broke up in 1972, Dempsey spent time in India before heading to the US, where he joined Blue Aquarius, a jazz/ funk outfit signed to Stax Records. He also played Latin music with Los Bohemios, and did session work with Alice Coltrane.

Upon returning to the UK, Dempsey went on to perform with a variety of acts including, notably, Swarb's Lazarus and Whippersnapper (band) with Dave Swarbrick, and Uiscedwr (2005-2007).

He also worked with Denim (band), accordion player Karen Tweed, Cincinnati-based Rosie Carson  and Peter Knight (folk musician).

Other artists Kevin has played with include Percy Sledge, The Marvellettes, Mary Black (accompanying her on a 2004 US tour) and from 2018, Jacqui McShee. 

In 2020, McShee and Dempsey released From There To Here via their own McDem Records which gave "them both a chance to explore and record more traditional folk songs and share writing ventures."

Well travelled, Dempsey has performed across the UK, Europe, Ireland, US and in 2013, made his first appearance in Australia, appearing at Folkworld Fairbridge Festival.

Kevin has released one solo album, 1987's The Cry Of Love.

Dempsey Broughton
In 1999, Dempsey teamed with fiddle player Joe Broughton (The Urban Folk Quartet, The Albion Band) as Dempsey Broughton. The duo have released several albums, beginning with Every Other World (1999), and tour intermittently. Their most recent release is Off By Heart (2017).

Dempsey said, the duo play "instrumentals, traditional songs and original songs", while their teaming has been described as a "dynamic partnership."

In 2019, the duo marked their 20th anniversary with a series of UK dates.

Style
Although Dempsey is best known for his work within the British folk tradition, "he grew up on a diet of American music; folk, blues, soul, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, Otis Redding, Mississippi John Hurt" and has played with musicians from US, El Salvador and Guatemala. His wide experience "shows in his versatility and ability to turn his hand, and guitar, to many different styles and genres."

Dempsey has been praised for his "sensitive finger picking" while Martin Carthy has referred to him as “a beautiful guitarist.”

Selected discography
 An Evening With Dando Shaft - Dando Shaft (1970)
 Dando Shaft - Dando Shaft (1971)
 Lantaloon - Dando Shaft (1972)
 Promises - Whippersnapper (1985)
 Tsubo - Whippersnapper (1987)
 The Cry Of Love - Kevin Dempsey (1987/1988)
 Fortune  - Whippersnapper (1989)
 Always With You - Chris Leslie and Kevin Dempsey (1989)
 Every Other World - Dempsey Broughton (1999)
 Mazurka Berserker - John Kirkpatrick (2001)
 Freehand - Dempsey Broughton (2004)
 Circle - Uiscedwr (2006)
 The Salty Diamond - Rosie Carson and Kevin Dempsey (2010)
 Raison D’etre - Swarbrick (2010)
 Between the Distance - Rosie Carson and Kevin Dempsey (2011)
 Nightbirds - Rosie Carson and Kevin Dempsey (2016)
 Off By Heart - Dempsey Broughton (2017)
 From There To Here - Jacqui McShee Kevin Dempsey (2020)

References

External links
 Kevin Dempsey official website

Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
British folk guitarists
British male guitarists
Whippersnapper (band) members
Swarb's Lazarus members